Democratic presidential contenders begin staking out criminal justice reform positions, yet another poll has a national majority for marijuana legalization, the FDA approves ketamine for depression, and more.

Bernie Sanders talks criminal justice reform, but he's not the only Democratic doing so. (senate.gov)

Quinnipiac Poll Has Strong Support for Legalization. A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday has support for marijuana legalization at 60% nationwide, with only 33% opposed. An even larger number of respondents (63%) said old marijuana arrest records should be expunged.

Texas Decriminalization Bill Gets Hearing. The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee held a hearing Monday on House Bill 63, which would decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Rep. Joe Moody (D-El Paso) has been pushing the issue since 2015. No vote was taken.

Medical Marijuana

Georgia House Approves CBD Access Bill. The House on Tuesday approved HB 324, which would allow for the sale of CBD cannabis oil to patients through dispensaries. The state legalized CBD cannabis oil for medicinal use in 2015, but there is no legal way to buy, sell, or obtain it. This bill would fix that. It now heads to the Senate.

Hawaii Will Allow Out of State Patients to Obtain Medical Marijuana. As of Tuesday, people with medical marijuana recommendations from other states are able to purchase medical marijuana while in the state. Officials said the change will ensure that visitors and part-time residents can get their medicine.

New Mexico Temporarily Boosts Plant Limits for Producers. The state health department issued an emergency rule last Friday to temporarily boost the number of plants producers can grow. The rule lifts the maximum from 450 plants to 2,500 plants through the end of August. The department will initiate a rule-making process to determine what the final plant count should be. The move comes amidst concerns over lack of supply.

Ketamine

FDA Approves Ketamine for Depression. The Food and Drug Administration approved a prescription treatment for depression that is derived from ketamine. The new treatment, called esketamine, is a nasal spray developed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals and will be sold under the brand name Spravato. The approval comes even as the FDA acknowledges that ketamine's anti-depressant properties are not well understood. Ketamine is an old anesthetic but has also been used as the club drug Special K in recent years.

Drug Policy

Beto O'Rourke Calls for Broad Drug, Criminal Justice Reforms. The Democratic presidential contender called for marijuana legalization and a "criminal justice system that is more fair and that urgently puts our country closer to the words written above the highest court in our land: equal justice under law" in an email to supporters this week. He also lambasted "the new Jim Crow" and the "school to prison pipeline," he said disproportionately targeted black children. He also called for an end to cash bail and the use of private prisons.

Bernie Sanders Calls for an End to the War on Drugs. In campaign rallies last weekend in Brooklyn and Chicago, the Vermont senator called for legalizing marijuana and ending the war on drugs, while calling for the need to address racial disparities in the emerging legal marijuana industry. "No more war on drugs that has destroyed so many lives," Sanders. "When we talk about criminal justice reform, we are going to change a system in which tens of thousands of Americans every year get criminal records for possessing marijuana, but not one major Wall Street executive went to jail for destroying our economy in 2008," he said. "No, they didn't go to jail, they got a trillion dollar bailout."

International

Colombia Coca Farmers Clash with Police. Farmers in Cordoba province's Alto Sinu region who are returning to coca cultivation after two years of waiting for economic and security assistance that never arrived clashed with riot police as they protested the national government's failure to support the shift to substitute crops. They said they had been left no choice but to go back to coca. Coca cultivation and cocaine production in Colombia has reached an all-time high, having risen to 171,000 hectares in 2017 from 48,000 in 2013.

(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org's 501(c)(4) lobbying nonprofit, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays the cost of maintaining this website. DRCNet Foundation takes no positions on candidates for public office, in compliance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and does not pay for reporting that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as doing so.)

In New Mexico, a pair of competing marijuana legalization bills are advancing; meanwhile, in Old Mexico, the Supreme Court takes the country another step down the path to legalization, and more. 

Amy Klobuchar Joins the Democratic Pack in Supporting Legalization. The Minnesota senator has now joined most other Democratic presidential contenders in embracing marijuana legalization. Sens. Bernie Sanders (VT), Cory Booker (NJ), Kamala Harris (CA), and Kristen Gillibrand (NY) have also come out for legalization. Klobuchar joined them with this statement last Friday: "I support the legalization of marijuana and believe that states should have the right to determine the best approach to marijuana within their borders."

Iowa Poll Has State Split Down the Middle on Legalization. A new Des Moines Register Iowa poll has Iowans evenly split on legalization, with 48% in favor and 48% opposed. That's a big jump in support from the previous Iowa Poll in January 2018, when only 38% supported legalization.

New Mexico Legalization Bills Advance. A legalization bill, HB 356, is headed for a House floor vote after the House Judiciary Committee approved it on a 7-3 vote Saturday. Meanwhile, another legalization bill, SB 577, passed out of the Senate Public Affairs Committee with no recommendation and must pass out of two more committees before heading for a floor vote. The Senate bill would have marijuana sold through state-run stores, while the House bill would leave it to private operators.

Oregon Social Consumption Bill Gets Hearing Tuesday. A bill that would legalize social consumption lounges and allow marijuana farm tours will get a hearing in the Senate Tuesday. SB 639 would bar temporary events and marijuana lounges from being within 1,000 feet of a school.  The hearing will be before the Senate Committee on Business and General Government.

International

Mexico Supreme Court Injunctions Trigger Ruling Marijuana Ban is Unconstitutional. The Supreme Court last Friday published eight rulings on the recreational use of marijuana that found prohibiting the drug was unconstitutional. The move means that as of now, all Mexican federal judges must grant injunctions to people who seek to use pot recreationally allowing them to grow and possess it for personal use. The court notified the Congress on February 13 that it had approved the rulings, triggering a 90-day window for lawmakers to try to come up with a marijuana legalization law.

Peru Approves Regulations for Medical Marijuana. Some 15 months after the legislature approved medical marijuana, regulations to cover its production and use were published in the official gazette on Saturday. The regulations cover guidelines and procedures for research, farming and production limits, importation, 

(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org's 501(c)(4) lobbying nonprofit, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays the cost of maintaining this website. DRCNet Foundation takes no positions on candidates for public office, in compliance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and does not pay for reporting that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as doing so.)

A record number of gubernatorial candidates are endorsing marijuana legalization, Bay State pot shops will be open this month, cartels are experimenting with coca production in Central America, and more.

A cocaine lab discovered by Honduran authorities last year. (Honduran Prosecutor's Office)

Record Number of Governor Candidates Call for Marijuana Legalization. A new analysis from Marijuana Moment finds that at least 21 major party gubernatorial candidates support legalizing marijuana, far more than any previous election cycle. But there are differences: Some candidates make legalization a centerpiece of their campaigns, while others embrace it only reluctantly or if pressed on the issue. For a list of those pro-legalization would-be governors, click on the link.

California Cities, Counties to Vote on Marijuana Taxes. More than two dozen cities and counties will have marijuana taxation proposals on their local ballots next week. Among the most controversial proposals is a San Francisco move to impose a 5% tax on gross sales receipts. That would come on top of the 15% state retail tax and the city's 8.75% sales tax, meaning pot sales would be taxed at a whopping 28.75%. The fear is the high levels of taxation will drive potential purchasers to the black market.

Massachusetts Legal Marijuana Sales to Begin This Month, State Says. The chairman of the state's Cannabis Control Commission said Thursday that legal marijuana sales would get underway "within the next week or two" after final inspections of pot shops are performed. "Everything is happening as quickly as we can," Chairman Steven Hoffman said. "There are no lags. We're working closely with the licensees so they understand the process. We're getting very close." It's been two years next week since Bay State voters approved marijuana legalization.

Medical Marijuana

First FDA-Approved Marijuana-Based Drug Now Available by Prescription. As of Thursday, the marijuana-based drug Epidiolex is now available by prescription in all 50 states. The FDA approved the drug in June, but manufacturer GW Pharmaceuticals had to wait for the DEA to reclassify its compounds out of Schedule I before it could begin selling it. That has now happened. Epidiolex is used for treating a rare form of epilepsy and a genetic btylerain dysfunction called Dravet syndrome, both of which can cause seizures.

International

Cocaine Production Beginning to Pop Up in Central America. Cocaine production is starting to pop up in Central America, a development that could bring the supply of the drug closer to the US. Officials in Guatemala and Honduras have found at least four separate coca plantings this year and last year. Although the total acreage involved -- about 125 acres -- is a tiny fraction of total coca planting, local officials said the fields constituted pilot projects by drug cartels exploring whether they can reduce transportation costs and risk by moving their product from major cocaine-producing countries to Central America.

(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org's 501(c)(4) lobbying nonprofit, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays the cost of maintaining this website. DRCNet Foundation takes no positions on candidates for public office, in compliance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and does not pay for reporting that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as doing so.)

Take the time to comment on how marijuana should be classified under international drug treaties, an Indiana legislative committee rejects medical marijuana, Ohio's Democratic gubernatorial candidate resorts to drug war rhetoric, and more.

Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Cordray is using drug war rhetoric. (consumerfinance.gov)

You Can Comment on How Marijuana Should Be Classified Under International Treaties. The Food and Drug Administration is accepting public comment until October 31 on how marijuana should be classified under international drug treaties. The World Health Organization will meet next month in Geneva to consider "the legitimate use, harmful use, status of national control and potential impact of international control," of marijuana and other substances, including synthetic cannabinoids and fentanyl.

Illinois Democratic Legislators Plan New Legalization Bill Next Year. State Sen. Heather Sterns (D-Chicago) and state Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) told a Des Plaines town hall Wednesday they are planning to reintroduce a revised draft of their Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act when the legislature reconvenes in January.

Medical Marijuana

Indiana Study Committee Doesn't Recommend Medical Marijuana Legalization. After hearing hours of testimony Thursday, the legislature's GOP-dominated interim study committee on public health rejected a recommendation to the full legislature that medical marijuana be legalized to treat chronic health conditions. The committee also rejected any further study of medical marijuana. But one Republican lawmaker, state Rep. Jim Lucas (R-Seymour) said he planned to file a medical marijuana bill next year anyway. "I'm going to make it my mission as a legislator, as a fellow Hoosier, to make sure that this issue moves forward," Lucas said.

Drug Policy

Ohio Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Resorts to "Tough on Drugs" Rhetoric. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Richard Cordray is resorting to old school war on drugs rhetoric as the clock ticks down on his tight race with Republican Mike DeWine winds down. Cordray has released a new ad featuring an Ohio sheriff boasting that Cordray "has called for longer sentences for drug dealers." The ad is true: Cordray has said that, as governor, he "will work with law enforcement to make sure drug dealers are convicted and serve long prison sentences." He's still not as pro-drug war as DeWine, who also wants longer sentences for drug dealers, but who opposes the state's Issue 1 ballot initiative that would defelonize drug possession. Cordray supports that.

(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org's 501(c)(4) lobbying nonprofit, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays the cost of maintaining this website. DRCNet Foundation takes no positions on candidates for public office, in compliance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and does not pay for reporting that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as doing so.)